The MATCH (Midwifery and Toronto Community Health) Program at South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) is celebrating its six-year anniversary in 2024. Beginning as a team of four midwives in 2018, the MATCH Program has now grown to a team of six and with the support of a full-time social worker – each of us working together to catch babies while expanding our services to Michael Garron Hospital and the Toronto Birthing Centre.
The MATCH Program offers a variety of services related to pregnancy care including prenatal care, labour, birth and postpartum care for birth parents and infants, and spontaneous and therapeutic abortion care. Additionally, SRCHC midwives provide STI screening and treatment, routine Pap tests, counseling and referrals for birth control, and we run a monthly drop-in vaccine clinic for pregnant people without health insurance or a primary care provider.
One of the cherished traditions that makes our service special is the birthing bead ritual. Families receiving MATCH program midwifery care are invited to choose a unique bead to mark the birth of their new babies and to be included in a display at our 955 Queen St E location. This tradition celebrates our growing community and recognizes that we are all treaty people, subject on this territory to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant. Recently, individuals receiving abortion care have also been given the option to select a bead – and now hundreds of beads have come together to symbolize each giver’s loving wish for strength, peace or joy.
If you have a uterus and need healthcare, midwives at SRCHC can help take care of you. Please visit srchc.com/match for more information.
Birthing beads selected by clients receiving care from the MATCH Program, on display at 955 Queen St E.